1933

Kitamura was established by Mr. Genji Kitamura at Kanyamachi, Takaoka City, Toyama Pref. under the name of Kitamura Manufacturing Company and started to manufacture under a sub-contract with Komatsu, LTD. For the manufacture of paper pulp machines.

1960

Kitamura became the number one share holder of Planers in the Domestic Market and moved the plant to Yokota, Takaoka City to accommodate expansion.

1962~1963

1962 – Developed the large Open-Sided Planer and started exporting overseas to Europe and India. The Planer employed a removable column so that it could achieve the same accuracies as a Bridge Style Type Machine.
1963 – Started exporting the Planer overseas to Europe and India.

1964

Development of a machine that had both Planer and Milling capabilities.
Both high and low speeds were made possible by a Ward Leonard Stepless Motor.
The Planer cutting speed was 36m/min while the Milling Machine cutting speed was 2m/min.

1965

Developed special Machining Center for the manufacture of undercarriage components for bullet transportation trains in Japan. This machine had the capability of both high precision boring and milling – Most of the large undercarriage components throughout Japan, made specifically for the bullet trains, were machined by this machine.

1967

Kitamura developed the Bed Type Grinder. This was a special machine made for the grinding of linear guides. The twin head could grind four rail grooves of the linear guide rail simultaneously (Kitamura originated this technology). The grinder could produce high-precision linear rails that were used for various different types of machine tools. THK was one of main users.

1966

Developed a compact size Planer (MyPlaner) with an X-Axis travel of 2m and a Y-Axis travel of 1.5m. The machine employed a special hydraulic driven combination valve allowing the machine to achieve 80m/min rapid feed rates on solid box ways.

1968

Kitamura started the production of the Bridge-Type Plano Miller. This machine used milling cutters instead of the conventional “shaving method” to machine the top and side of the parts. Kitamura sold this machine to Machine Tool Manufacturers such as Okuma, Ikegai, OKK, Washino and Takisawa, holding the number one Domestic share in 1974.

1969

Development of Complex Bridge Style machine – “Myplaner”. Hydraulically driven, the Myplaner could both mill and shape a single surface at the same time. This system expanded the market because it could machine not only a flat surface but also a curved surface.

1970

Developed the First Mirror Finish Machine using vibration source. R & D relationship with the Science and Technology Agency along with the Physical and Chemical Research Institute. Obtained patents in 12 countries.

1971

Started to produce high precision Vertical Machining Centers. As the 5th manufacturer of Machining Centers in Japan, adopted Machining Centers as the company’s main product line. Developed Vertical Boring Machining Center.

1971

Kitamura succeeds in developing the Vertical Machining Center. With an idea born by Senju-Kannon Statue, Kitamura developed and began mass producing the “T-12” which employed a 12 station ATC. This machine achieved a 2 second tool change time, the fastest in the world at the time. A patent on the technology was obtained from 7 countries.

1972

1973

Changed name to Kitamura Machinery Co., LTD. Development commenced on an 8 Spindle Machining Center well suited for the production of Aerospace parts. This heavy duty, multi spindle machine had the capability to mill parts requiring multi-operations at high speeds.

1974

Developed the T-20 which was the sister machine to the T-12 and obtained patent. - The T-20 achieved a 2.5 second tool change time – the fastest in the world. - This machine was an original development by Kitamura whereby the company obtained patents in 12 countries. - Kitamura was awarded the 10th annual prize of the Japan Society for the Promotion of the Machine Industry.

1974

Technical business agreement with Germany was made in the relationship with DONAU Maschinerie GmbH. Started to export Machining Centers to Europe under the DONAU-KITAMURA brand name and set-up distributorships throughout Europe.

1980

Entered into the field of fully automated machines with the introduction of the Mycenter-2 Vertical Machining Center with 16 tool ATC, 5,000rpm Spindle and 472inch/min feed rates on X/Y axes.

1982

Development of NC Lathes (Myturn-10 and Myturn-20) - With the development of these machines, Kitamura expanded their lathe business - The beds of the machines used a circular hollow construction in order to minimize thermal growth caused by cutting. Kitamura was the first in the world to use this technology - 6 inch and 8 inch chucking capabilities - Sold in the Domestic market and exported to Europe and the U.S.

1983

1983

Development of Laser Cutting Machine. A technical contract was formed with Messa Greaseheim in West Germany to develop the Laser Cutting Machine. Machines were sold to Shotoku Press and other domestic customers.

1984

Developed the KP-1 and KP-4 Drilling Machines. During the same period, researched and developed tooling for 30,000 and 150,000rpm spindles. These Drilling Machines were used for Printed Circuit Boards.

1985

Kitamura developed a 5-axis Horizontal Machining Center called the H300 Supercell with a maximum pallet capability of a 120 pallet pool. This machine was the first of it’s kind introduced to world, capable of machining multi surfaces with one pass. The H300 Supercell had the capability to run unmanned for 72 hours. With the development of this techno-logy, Kitamura became a leader in automation and received patents in 10 countries for the technology.

1989

Developed the heavy-duty Sonicmill-2 with 20,000rpm spindle, synchronized tapping and 394ipm cutting feed rate. In 1989, no other manufacturer was able to offer a machine with 20,000rpm and the tapping feature. At this time, Kitamura also developed the Sonicmill-7 which had rapids of 1575ipm and a 25,000rpm/30HP spindle. This was the first machine available in the domestic market capable of high speed machining. Cutting Capability: ¾” Endmill, ¾” depth, 236ipm cutting feed.

1994

Employed Box Ways in basic construction design
Achieved rapid feeds of 1417ipm with box ways and reduced cycle time by 50% when compared with conventional machines.

1996

Achieved 1575ipm with box ways. Back in 1966, Kitamura achieved rapid feeds of 4724ipm. At that time, machines used a rack & pinion system instead of ballscrews. Through our research & development, Kitamura has found that box ways can indeed achieve high speeds without sacrificing rigidity or accuracies.

1998

Kitamura developed the world’s fastest machining center – The “Sparkcut”. An ultra high-speed mold machine, the “sparkcut” was the world’s fastest machining center at the time with a spindle speeds of up to 150,000rpm and a cutting speed of 3,937ipm with 2G acceleration. Received the 11th annual new technology for the medium and small business Award for this new technology.

1999

2001

Development of the Mytrunnion – Ultra high precision 5-Axis Vertical Machining Center and Jigcenter-5 – Ultra high precision Jig Borer. Mytrunnion – Positioning Accuracy of +-0.000039”/full Stroke. Trunnion style A & C axes design with ballscrew cooling and Y axis way cooling standard. Received the 33rd annual prize for the Machine Industry Design for the Development of the Mytrunnion.

2002

Introduction of the “F” and “H” –Series high precision horizontal and vertical machining centers with accuracies of up to +/-0.00004” full stroke and repeatability of +/-0.00002”.

2004

Introduction of the NanoMycenter with spindle speeds of 45,000rpm and positioning accuracy of +/-0.1 micrometers.

2005

Developed the Dimystar. The first column-traverse type multi-head mold machine. 20 times more productive than a conventional machining center. With a Maximum # of 8 heads and a max spindle speed of 40,000rpm, this machine is best suited for large molds, such as for the Automobile Industry. Positioning accuracy at +-0.000039”.

2007

With R & D complete, the Mycenter-HX1000i goes into production. Kitamura’s largest horizontal machining center, the HX1000i weighs 126,000Lbs with high speed, high precision features necessary for the ever growing large part machining market.

2008

Expansion is completed on Takaoka City Headquarters to support the production of larger sized, high performance horizontal machining centers and a continued increase in order base Worldwide.

2011

Introduction of the Mycenter-3XG vertical machining center for fine finish, high accuracy machining, standard with the new Arumatik-Mi control – Kitamura’s own CNC control system platform, developed for optimum performance synergy with Kitamura Horizontal, Vertical and 5-Axis machining centers.

2012

2012 continues with the introduction of the G-Series horizontal and vertical machining centers with a sleeker new look and more streamlined production techniques. The G-Series is shown for the first time at the International Machine Tool Show with incredible feedback and earns the Good Design Award for outstanding machine design.

2012

Kitamura begins full production and promotion of its new high speed CNC controller, the Arumatik-Mi and begins implementing this control on new products in development.

2012

With much success in the development of larger, heavy duty horizontal machining centers, Kitamura introduces the HX800iLTGA large-scale horizontal machining center to it's line-up.

2013

The Kitamura Vertical and Horizontal G-Series Machining Centers continue to win design awards with the Mycenter-HX400G receiving recognition in receiving the 46th Annual Prize for the Machine Industry Design Award

2013

November 8th, 2013 - Kitamura Machinery Co., LTD proudly celebrates it's 80th Anniversary and continues it's enthusiastic pursuit of high quality and high precision in machine tool development and production.

2013

Introduction of the Mycenter-4XD Vertical Machining Center targeting general job shops. With the success of the launch, Kitamura expands upon this affordable VMC with a #50 version and the Mycenter-4XT with an integrated trunnion table, offering 5-axis capabilities.

Founded in 1933, Kitamura's concentration in the machining center
business as well as its unprecedented commitment
to Research and Development has led to industrial growth
with the procurement of over 200 patents and patents pending
in machining center design.